Sergei Astafjev is co-founder and chief executive of Wallester, the Tallinn company that issues Visa cards for fintechs and businesses across Europe and runs a corporate expense card platform. He started it in 2016 with Dmitri Logvinenko.
Growing Up in Lasnamäe
Astafjev was born in Lasnamäe, the large Soviet-era housing district in Tallinn. His father was a police officer by day and worked as a security guard at night to support the family. Wallester now partners with the charity Naerata Ometi to support children in Estonia.
Before Wallester he worked in programming, in fintech, and in running businesses. By the time he started the company he was financially secure, which let him build it at his own pace and without depending on a large funding round.
Building Wallester
He set out his approach to customer-centric card payments in a profile with European CEO. Wallester became a licensed Visa partner in 2018 and later a Visa Principal Member, so it can issue cards directly. It sells white-label card programs with a ready-made app and portal, and Wallester Business, an expense card platform for companies.
The approach has paid off. Revenue rose 63% in 2025 to €27.9 million (about $31.2 million), with an operating profit of about €2.0 million. In 2025 the company added disposable virtual cards, round-the-clock currency exchange, and Xero and QuickBooks links, and it opened an office in Cannes. Its rivals include Enfuce and Paynetics.
A Builder at Heart
“I love building things,” Astafjev says. With more than 200 employees in Tallinn, Riga, and Cannes, he is still building, and still from the city where he grew up.
